


little nightmares

by plent



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Bullying, Childhood Trauma, Divorce, Insecurity, M/M, Roommates, Shiratorizawa, Social Anxiety, Volleyball Dorks in Love, get these boys some therapy, like seriously they arent ok
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:47:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29573415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plent/pseuds/plent
Summary: tendou struggles to adjust to the foreign environment of his new high school. everything is so much more complex than he's used to- the classes are more difficult, and everything feels more elite than his old schools could ever dream of being. to top it all off, his roommate is polite towards him, something tendou hasn't expected of anyone for years. can they both move past their backgrounds and get to know each other better? or will their personalities keep them apart forever?; i altered a little bit of canon so this would work out the way i wanted it to. please do not get angry or upset! this is just how i like to imagine my story. thank you. ;
Relationships: Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	1. tendou goes to school!

Tendou looked around at the extensive campus. He found it hard to believe he had made it into such a huge school- hell, they even had horses here. One glance at the large map he held in his hands led him to wonder exactly what kind of school his parents sent him too.

Maybe he should’ve attended the open house. He had politely declined because he knew- well, he thought he knew- this was just going to be another school like all the others he had gone too. In fact, he only caved and agreed to go because his mother told him they had a volleyball team. Then suddenly, a week before school started, he learned that there’s dorm rooms, and suddenly he needed to pack. The fact that he’d be staying on campus felt like a spike straight to the face. That’s when he actually bothered to look up wherever the fuck he was going.

But this was so much more than he had mentally prepared himself for. The place was god damn _gargantuan._

Tendou looked down at the map clutched in his hand and tried to figure out where he was. He was beside… the gym?

He looked to his right and his eyes widened. _That’s the gym?_ He thought he had been lurking beside a dormitory, but that was the _gym?_ It was huge! It was the size of his elementary school!

Tendou shivered and looked back down at the map. On the other side of campus was his dormitory, A2. He walked there, feeling more like he was stuck in some twisted dream than trudging through reality. There was no way he was actually going to this school. He would walk into his first class and find out it was some sort of mistake, that he was switched with another student and he should’ve gone to some lesser known school, like Ohgiminami or Kakugawa. There was no way Tendou Satori, C-to-B average student, could go to the top high school in the Miyagi Prefecture, in fucking _Sendai._ He would go to his dorm, find his schedule, and discover someone else's name on it. He wasn’t meant to be there, Tendou was certain of this. All he was, was a boring teen boy who got bullied for his mom’s stupid bowl cuts and read too much Shonen Jump.

He stopped in front of the dormitory. It was a tall, looming building, the modern architecture fitting in perfectly with the progressed style of the campus. Tendou felt a shudder crawl down his back. He wouldn’t fit in at all in this place. He should not be here.

Keeping to the sides of the hall, he stalked to the elevator, paused, and jabbed the button going up. According to the notes his mom had scrawled on the map, he was on the fourth floor. The elevator was blessedly empty and he leaned against the wall, staring at the mirrored ceiling. His tired reflection gazed back at him. The bowl cut he had grown out of years ago sent a jab of self hatred straight through his chest. Dark bags were under his eyes due to the amount of sleep he had missed worrying about the new school year. He wondered if he would just get bullied like he always did. A small part of his brain hoped that he wouldn’t, but Tendou shut it down before he could get his spirits up. Being bullied was a constant in his life- it wouldn’t change, maybe until he died. At least, that’s what he told himself.

The elevator slid to a smooth stop and he stepped out. The hallway was sparsely populated by confident looking students in crisp uniforms. Tendou felt out of place in his casual hoodie and jeans. His mom’s ever so helpful notes on the map informed him that his uniform was in his dorm room, which, thanks to his eternal luck, was at the end of the hall. He sighed and began to briskly walk through the corridor, keeping his eyes cast downward to avoid eye contact. God, it was so awkward. It probably would have been less awkward if they were all bullying him- at least he’d know how they felt. This was a new school, and he had to live with these students. Not knowing what they were thinking was hell.

The dorm was locked, and Tendou fished the key out of his hoodie pocket. He fumbled with it for a brief moment, but thankfully didn’t drop it. The door swung open and he slipped inside, gently closing it behind him.

Silence. It was bliss. The room was as crisp as the uniforms- Crisp bed sheets on the bunk, crisp curtains covering the window, crisp paper on both of the desks. It seemed the school had thought of everything when preparing the rooms for new students. And it seemed he would only have to share with one other person, which was yet another blessing. 

He stepped over to the desks and picked up one of the schedules. Ushijima Wakatoshi. Well, that wasn’t him. He set the schedule down carefully, imagining his roommate. Strong, chatty, likes to brag, maybe. Stuck up. Classic rich kid complex. He smiled a little. He was going to take so much hell from that man, he figured. He slid the other schedule off the desk and into his hands, his eyes flicking to the top.

_Tendou Satori._

A bit of the unease disappeared when he realised that he was, in fact, in the right place. Examining the schedule, the unease quickly made a return.

_All of these classes are super… freaking… hard._  
He immediately deflated. The only bonus was art class, where he could at least draw manga characters, but… he might not even be able to do that in such a high standard school.

_Oh god, Wakatoshi, I’m going to flunk out immediately. I hope you don’t get too attached to your new punching bag._

He let the schedule fall back down onto the desk and opened the closet, finding his uniform untouched. Compared to his old school uniforms, it was so… elegant. Tendou watched himself in the mirror as he changed into it, pulling on the plum colored pants and tucking in the light blue shirt. The only problem was that he had absolutely no idea how to tie a tie. He dug his phone out of his hoodie which was now laying on the bottom bunk, only to find it dead. 

_Damn… talk about good first impressions. My first day at such a huge school and I can’t even tie a necktie. Damnit! Damn, damn, damn, hell…_

As he thought to himself, he proceeded to fumble with the necktie. He continued to struggle with it, only pausing when there was a soft click. Tendou froze. There were footsteps on the soft carpet, which halted in the middle of the room.

“You must be Tendou Satori.” A deep voice intoned, lurking right behind him. Tendou slowly turned to face his enemy, a tall man with brown hair and serious eyes. He took an involuntary step back.

“And you are… Ushijima.” He said softly, red eyes seeking any signs of aggression. The man just looked… passive. Completely neutral and blank faced. He had a strong and sturdy build, which led Tendou to be wary despite the lack of anger or disgust. An image of Zoro from _One Piece,_ one of his favorite mangas, flicked through his mind. Solid was the only word he could think to describe Wakatoshi with. And maybe scary.

“Do you need assistance with your necktie?” Ushijima suddenly offered, looking down at Tendou’s collar. Tendou lifted the necktie only to discover he had somehow tied it into a noose.

“Oh! Uh… if it wouldn’t… be too much of a bother.” Tendou mumbled, feeling his face heating up. He felt pretty pathetic, having this man offer to help him when they hadn’t even exchanged ten words yet. Ushijima’s hands raised and he untied the slipknot, and instead gently knotted it into an oriental, describing the steps to Tendou as he went. Tendou felt his rough knuckles brush against his collarbone as Ushijima worked, and he fought to keep from flinching away. It was different from what he was used to. In a way, it was almost intimate.

Then Ushijima stepped away and adjusted his own necktie out of habit. Tendou turned to examine it in the mirror, nodding slowly. 

“Thank you for the… help, Ushijima.” He said slowly, looking back at Ushijima and offering a small smile. Ushijima dipped his head in response.

“Please, inform me if you ever need any assistance.” He said politely. Tendou felt a little overwhelmed. This man was oddly kind to him, despite just having met him. It was a foreign concept to him.

“Uh… likewise.” Tendou responded, trying his hardest not to stutter. The small smile Ushijima gave him was as much of a surprise to him as a major character’s death in a manga.

“I look forward to being your roommate, Tendou Satori. I hope you feel the same way.”

Tendou swallowed, his mouth feeling like cotton. He nodded again, unsure of how to respond. “You too.” He stammered, eyes wide. Ushijima picked up his schedule and then glanced at the paper Tendou had left on his desk. 

“It appears we both signed up for volleyball.” He said casually, in that same monotone voice Tendou was already beginning to expect. “Have you played before?”

“Huh?” Tendou stepped over to the desk and picked up the schedule once more. He hadn’t bothered to read Ushijima’s, but it was true- he was already listed as a volleyball player. He had practice after classes were over, in that monster sized gym. “Oh- yeah. I play, uh, as a blocker.”

Ushijima looked up at the red haired boy, his eyes still as serious as they were before. “I look forward to playing with you, Tendou Satori.” He said solemnly.  
Tendou gripped the paper, wrinkling the edges in the process. He hardly noticed. 

“You can just call me Satori.” He said softly, staring straight through Ushijima. “You’re so… formal.”

“Is that a bad thing, Satori?” He inquired, somehow playfully despite how serious his tone of voice sounded. Tendou bit back a chuckle.

“I guess not, Wakatoshi.” He said, then hesitated before making eye contact with his new roommate. Ushijima didn’t look angry, or disgusted, or even upset that this bowl-cutted boy was addressing him like a long time friend.

In fact, Ushijima looked happy.


	2. tendou goes on a walk!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw violence!! also minor one piece spoilers

Tendou couldn’t help but be intimidated by his new roommate, no matter how accepting he was. When Ushijima was in the dorm, he spent most of his time perched on the top bunk, reading Shonen Jump and occasionally glancing down to see what the enemy was plotting now. Mostly, Ushijima studied and did homework while he was there. Tendou had also observed him bringing plants into the dorm which sat on his desk, absorbing stray rays of sunlight and doing whatever plant things plants do.

Right now, Ushijima was misting a cactus lightly with water, before setting down the spray bottle and leaning forward to examine it. Tendou furrowed his eyebrows before looking back down at the page before him.

The most recent volume of One Piece had been volume 59. An unfortunate omen for Tendou’s beginning of a new school- the death of one of his favorite characters. He had barely been able to bring himself to reread this volume, and as his eyes scanned the panels, he felt his already shattered heart break into a hundred more pieces.

He finally set down the book with a small sigh and climbed down the ladder, landing on the carpeted floor with a small hop. Ushijima seemed to hear the almost silent thud and turned to look at Tendou before looking back down at his cactus. Tendou could’ve sworn he was talking to it.

“I think I’m gonna head out.” Tendou said softly, opening the closet and pulling out his casual clothes. He changed quickly behind the door. Ushijima had no problem changing without cover, but Tendou always felt more insecure about his pale body and scars which littered it. Like when he was pushed off of the court by a classmate in junior high and received a gnarly gash from a poorly located bench. The scar tore a jagged line across his bicep. If Ushijima asked about that, even in passing, it might ruin the faux version of himself Tendou was trying to build.

Finally he slipped on the Shiratorizawa hoodie he had found in the campus store, a new addition to his ever growing collection of sweaters, and shut the closet door. Ushijima had finally straightened himself and was examining a book. The cover read ‘How to Make a Plant Love You: Cultivate Green Space in Your Home and Heart.’

Tendou thought he might cry.

“Wakatoshi, did you happen to take agriculture as an extracurricular?” Tendou mumbled, not really expecting an answer. However, Ushijima nodded.

“The growth and development of a plant is a fascinating thing to study.” Ushijima said, looking over the book at Tendou. “Every day we learn something new about plants. Did you know that they can feel sensations and touch such as a butterfly landing on a leaf?” 

Of course he’s also a walking encyclopedia of plant knowledge. Why wouldn’t he be?

“Fascinating.” Tendou said coldly. Ushijima didn’t seem to pick up on his tone- or, maybe he just didn’t care.

“I agree. The Earth also has more than 80,000 species of edible plants.”

“Wakatoshi,” He began softly, looking down at his hands to avoid eye contact. “I don’t care.”

Ushijima momentarily went quiet, before lifting the book up again. “I see. My apologies.”

Tendou hesitated by the door, feeling the guilt claw at his stomach unpleasantly. This person was genuinely nice to him and Tendou was being a total dick, he knew this. But he wasn’t sure how much longer he could stand this dorm room.

“I’m leaving,” He said, then paused. “Going on a walk. I’ll be back later.”

“Stay safe.” Wakatoshi said, and Tendou almost believed it sounded genuine. _Almost._

He slipped out the door and shut it behind him, shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath before starting down the hallway. He kept his head down, hands shoved into the pockets of his hoodie. He had managed to float on the sidelines for a week, only drawing attention when it was absolutely necessary, such as in biology when they needed a partner for frog dissection. Said partner had gotten the idea that Tendou enjoyed dissecting the frog a little too much before laughing and threatening him with the scalpel. His buddies got a kick out of that.

Tendou had a small cut on his arm to remember it by. Barely big enough to be a cat scratch.

He pressed the down button beside the elevator with a slender finger, before waiting patiently for it to come down. After a few seconds the doors slid open to reveal a boy with ash blonde hair with dark tips. He recognized Tendou and scowled, looking away. Tendou nervously stepped in and looked at the buttons. The first floor had already been lit.

The boy standing beside him and radiating angry vibes was Eita Semi, a fellow first year of the Shiratorizawa boys volleyball club. Apparently he had already decided he didn’t like Tendou. That was fine by him, as Tendou honestly felt himself terrified of Semi. He seemed like the type of guy to take bullying to the next level without a shred of remorse, and Tendou typically at least tried to avoid those. However, Semi was also their main setter, so avoiding him would be harder than usual.

“Hey,” He suddenly spoke, causing Tendou to lurch in surprise. 

“Yeh- Yes?” Tendou stammered, eyes wide.

“You. You have a really good block.” He said. Semi’s eyes looked dark and stormy. Tendou looked away, down at the elevator door. Semi stepped closer to him. “But. If you just guess where the spiker will be, will it always work?”

Semi’s presence was demanding and loud, dominant and obnoxious. Tendou looked up, eyebrows furrowed, but by the time he began to speak the doors opened and Semi briskly strode out.

“I- and. You are gone. Oh.” He hesitated until the doors began to close, which jump started him back into action. He jammed his foot in before squeezing out and hurrying to the doors.

Semi was nowhere in sight. 

Tendou sighed before looking back around campus and walking down the paved path away from the dorms. He went past the main building, the monster sized gym, the horses, and out the front gate without any problem or protest whatsoever. Tendou smiled a little to himself and relaxed once he was in the clear, jogging along the road that led into town. It wasn’t very far of a jog due to the fact that the school was located in the capital of the Miyagi prefecture, Sendai.

He stopped by a vending machine and fed in a hundred yen bill, pressing the buttons before ducking down and grabbing the Ramune. He pried off the cap and pressed the marble down before once again walking down the street, a small smile on his face. It was actually quite a beautiful day, when you stopped to examine it. The leaves were red and yellow and orange, the trees looked like bright and vibrant torches against the clear blue sky. A cool breeze blew past Tendou’s legs and down the street, carrying a stray leaf or two among the benches and storefronts.

He took a deep breath through his nose before slowly letting out, sipping his Ramune and cherishing the carbonation of the kiwi flavored soda. It felt nice to get out of his dorm and off of campus. Being around such a high brow school was stressful and Tendou frankly didn’t enjoy it.

Sure, he still felt guilty about how cruel he was to Ushijima. But he fought the guilt by reminding himself that Ushijima shouldn’t need the stress of pitying his lame roommate and going out of his way to be nice to him. 

Tendou drank his Ramune as he walked, losing track of time as he walked. The sun hung over him in the sky, but clouds were beginning to gather above the stores, shady and menacing. He slipped the empty bottle in his hoodie pocket and kicked at a rock. He wasn’t quite sure where he was, but he figured it’d be easy enough to find his way to Shiratorizawa- it wasn’t exactly subtle. As he turned to go back, a car drove past him, and he could’ve sworn the driver had looked at him.

Tendou shivered and hunched over, trying to warm up some as a sudden cold breeze blew past. Had it been this biting when he first came out? He felt in his pocket for his phone to check the time and realised he had left it in his dorm. _Damn,_ he thought, biting his lower lip. _I’m starting to think I should’ve stayed home._

Ahead of him car doors slammed. Tendou noticed, but he didn’t really notice, the way you hear other people chatting in a restaurant but don’t really take note of it. He was busy checking all of his pockets for his phone when he heard the heavy footsteps approaching him.

He quickly glanced up, scooting out of the way so they could barrel past. But they didn’t. They actually changed their course as Tendou shifted, moving straight towards him.

“See, I told you it was him!” One of them bellowed triumphantly.

And the worst part was, as they stormed straight towards him with shit eating grins, Tendou recognized them. He recognized his friends.

_“Oi, Tendou! Do you wanna play volleyball with us?”_

_“Me?” Tendou pointed a shaky hand at his chest, his cheeks still damp with tears. Wakaizumi nodded fervently._

_“Of course, you! Silly!” He said, laughing. By his side, Atsutane and Teshima were grinning. “We wanna play two on two but there’s only three of us. You can play, right?”_

_Tendou scrubbed a hand across his face and nodded, eyes wide, his lips pulling into a small smile. “Yeah,” He said softly, pushing himself off the grass. “Yeah, I can play.”_

_“Good!” Wakaizumi shouted, before tossing the volleyball to Tendou and jogging with Atsutane to the other side of the makeshift court. Tendou joined Teshima on the other side._

_They played like that for a while, shouting encouragement to each other and sharing jokes. Eventually their play dissolved into mindless joking and careless plays. Tendou actually felt like part of a group, for once._

_“Hey,” Teshima said, after the game was over and they were preparing to go home. “You should join us again tomorrow, Tendou! My mom’s gonna pick us up afterwards, and we can hang out at my house.”_

_Tendou had been shocked at first. He had half expected this to end with them ridiculing him for thinking he could hang out with such cool kids. But slowly his shock morphed into a grin. “Yeah, I’ll be here!” He had said, smiling like he had just received the gift he had been asking for his whole life. And, in a way, he had._

And now that same Teshima that had invited him over, played Minecraft with him, taught him how to do the monkey bars, and stood up to bullies for him was standing right in front of him, grinning like a maniac, and not because they had gotten permission to go to McDonald’s alone.

Flanking him were Wakaizumi and Atsutane, and neither of them shared Teshima’s smile. They were scowling menacingly, hands shoved in their pockets. Tendou wanted to pee his pants. Instead he pressed his back against the cold brick wall behind him and looked at them with scared animals eyes, flinching back when Teshima stepped towards him.

“Yo.” He said, narrowing his eyes. “Long time no see, Satori.” 

Tendou tried to speak but only managed a small squeak. He licked his lips, and tried again. “Hey… Teshima…”

“You’re just as freaky as always, aren’t you?” Teshima spat, and Tendou felt his heart drop. _This wasn’t right. Of course this wasn’t right. This isn’t some friendly happy reunion, Tendou- this is real life, and real life fuckin sucks. Your old friend is about to hand you your liver in a plastic bag after he cuts it out like those frogs you dissected._

Tendou swallowed, managing a weak laugh. “Yeah, a real creep.”

“You got that right.” He snarled, and a heavy hand landed on Tendou’s shoulder, shoving him toward the concrete. He landed on his butt- hard. Tendou’s breath came out in a gasp, and he knocked his head against the bricks. Damn. A low throbbing ache resounded through his temples.

“Look at his coat,” Wakaizumi growled, the same Wakaizumi who had laughed and playfully tossed the volleyball to Tendou when he was crying. “The Shiratorizawa crest, plastered right on his tit. I’d recognize that from a mile away. Atsutane’s daddy went there, didn’t he?”

“Oi! Quit it!” Atsutane growled, shoving Wakaizumi to the side. Wakaizumi retaliated with a shove of his own, and the two boys quickly got into the MMA equivalent of a pissing match. Teshima didn’t seem to notice, instead examining Tendou’s features as if comparing them to the last time they had seen each other. That’s probably what he was doing, actually. 

“Why’d you leave me, sweetheart?” Teshima crooned in a voice that brought shivers to Tendou. 

“I… I had to.” Tendou mumbled, looking down at his hands which rested against the chilly concrete. “Nobody…”

“Nobody wanted you there, right?” Teshima finished. He had always been impatient, and Tendou stumbling over his words had always frustrated him. He had a knack for finishing Tendou’s sentences for him. Now Tendou just nodded, agreeing that that was what he had wanted to convey. Teshima grinned.

“That’s cause you were ugly _and_ a queer. A twofer!” He said, and then chuckled lightly. Tendou felt anger bubbling deep down inside him and he bit his lower lip, trying to hold it back. 

“You…” Tendou began slowly, struggling to find the courage to speak. “You lied, to everyone.” He managed, looking back up at Teshima. They made fleeting eye contact before Tendou glanced away again, struck by the intense urge to run. But he couldn’t run, and not just because he was a coward. Teshima was towering over him, and his two cronies were ready to grab Tendou at a moments notice.

“No, I didn’t.” Teshima said, tilting his head innocently. “If anything, you’re the one who tried to lie.”

Tendou tasted metallic warmth on his tongue and realized he had bitten his lip clear through. He shuddered at the taste of blood in his mouth, turning his head and spitting it on the sidewalk. He felt Teshima lurch in surprise, but it didn’t bother Tendou much. Tendou looked back up at his longtime friend. He was able to speak, little by little, but still managing.

“Everyone thought that I-” He paused, not quite sure just _what_ everyone thought. Tendou blinked and Teshima took this as an opportunity to speak.

“That you tried to molest me, right?” That same tone of innocence was still in Teshima’s voice. Tendou thought he might explode. 

“Yes,” He agreed. “Everyone thought I tried to molest you.”

“Cause you did.”

“I gave you my button, you dumb shit. You’re just so obsessed with your own appearance that you immediately translated that to… whatever you did.”

Teshima took a step back in shock, and Tendou watched with vague pleasure as his face morphed from surprise into full out rage. “You’re lying!” He spat, drawing his foot back and connecting it with Tendou’s rib cage. Tendou gasped, head hitting the bricks again. The Ramune bottle fell out of his pocket and shattered on the sidewalk. Teshima didn’t seem to notice.

He slammed his foot into Tendou again, this time knocking the wind out of him. Tendou struggled for breath, one hand gripping his chest while the other groped for a shard of glass from the Ramune bottle.

He heard Wakaizumi laugh and moved too late. Atsutane’s foot came down on Tendou’s hand, the glass embedding itself into Tendou’s palm. He hissed, the stinging pain shooting up his arm. That was gonna be a pain in the ass to remove, he could already see it. 

Atsutane picked up his foot and moved away, most likely hoping to push Wakaizumi back. Tendou reached around with his good hand and grabbed a large shard of Ramune bottle that happened to not be covered in Tendou’s blood. But he wasn’t going to do any good on the ground, that was for sure. Teshima was still standing over him like a guardian angel, despite the fact that he was very, very far from that title.

He began to try to stand up, shoving the shard of glass into his hoodie pocket and using his free hand to push himself up via the brick wall. Wakaizumi and Atsutane had provided a brief distraction, but now Teshima looked back, saw Tendou almost standing upright, and clocked him in the side of the jaw. Tendou made the mistake of trying to catch himself as he fell and got more glass stuck deep in both palms. This was not going as well as he planned.

He was once again trying to pull himself back to his knees when he heard Teshima utter a curse, followed by a momentary pause and then Atsutane’s shouts. 

“Teshima, someone spotted us, they fuckin saw us-” 

There was a brief lapse as Atsutane and Wakaizumi grabbed at each other in an effort to still the other, almost as if this intruder was a t-rex. If they stayed still, maybe they wouldn’t be seen. They weren’t very good at staying still, however. 

Tendou peeked over his shoulder, finally having dragged himself into a standing position through sheer willpower. His hands ached and stung, and warm blood was trailing down his palms in ribbons. He turned to get a better look at whoever had discovered them, and his eyes widened.

“Wakatoshi?”


End file.
